Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Vitamin K1 supplements raise levels in dogs with chronic gut disease
By Smith, Jillian Myers et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2025·University of Tennessee, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Supplementation of Vitamin K1 in Dogs With Chronic Enteropathy.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with chronic enteropathy (a digestive condition) was given vitamin K1 supplements to see if it would improve their health. After three weeks, the dogs that received the vitamin K1 showed significantly higher levels of the vitamin in their blood compared to before they started the supplements and compared to those who received a placebo. However, the study did not find any clear health benefits from the increased vitamin K1 levels in these dogs. More research is needed to understand the role of vitamin K1 in dogs with this condition.
People also search for: dog chronic enteropathy treatment · vitamin K1 for dogs · dog digestive health supplements
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Information regarding measurement and supplementation of vitamin K1 (vitK1) in dogs with chronic enteropathy (CE) is limited. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: Compare vitK1 concentrations of healthy dogs to dogs with CE and determine if supplementation with vitK1 increases vitK1 concentrations compared to placebo. ANIMALS: Twenty client-owned dogs with CE and 20 healthy university-owned research colony dogs. METHODS: Prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled study. Dogs with CE were randomly assigned to receive placebo or vitk1 2.5 mg/kg PO q12h for 3 weeks. Vitamin K concentrations were measured pre- and post supplementation using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry and compared to vitK1 concentrations in the healthy cohort. RESULTS: All healthy dogs had initial vitK1 median concentrations of 0.10 ng/mL (interquartile range [IQR], 0.05), which was similar to dogs that received either placebo (n = 5; 0.10 ng/mL; IQR, 0.05) or vitK1 (n = 7; 0.10 ng/mL; IQR, 0.05) before supplementation. Dogs with CE receiving vitK1 had increased vitK1 concentrations (12.5 ng/mL; IQR, 4.1) after 3 weeks of supplementation compared with baseline (0.10 ng/mL; p < 0.001), placebo group after 3 weeks (0.10 ng/mL; p < 0.0001) and healthy dogs (0.10 ng/mL; p < 0.004). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Oral supplementation with vitK1 increased vitK1 concentration in the serum of dogs with CE, but a clinical benefit from increased vitK1 concentrations was not identified. The absence of difference in vitK1 concentrations between healthy and CE dogs before supplementation requires additional investigation.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40318178/